L'iluey Nishmas

This morning, my friend posted to our classes What's App group that it was her brother's yartzeit.  My first thought was, OH, how sad!  My second thought was, I'm going learn something in his memory.

Shortly there after, someone else posted this thought--

At yechidus (private meeting with a Rebbe), the Rebbe Maharash once told the Rebbe Rashab: "The yetzer hara, though called an 'animal', can at times act slyly, and clothe itself in the guise of a straightforward, humble tzaddik, so that one really has to be clever enough to uncover its tricks. The yetzer hara manifests itself in each individual according to his nature. One person may suddenly feel a powerful desire to learn Chassidus [at a particular time], yet that desire is coming from the yetzer hara, who is trying to prevent him from davening at length, or the like."
The Rebbe Maharash concluded, "Take this as a general rule and remember it always. If something actually leads to active avoda (in refining one's middos) and is met up with opposition, then that opposition, even the noblest, is coming from the yetzer hara."
Relating this episode, the Rebbe Rashab added, "When I left that yechidus, I changed my avoda completely. Until then, I had assumed that the yetzer hara could only encourage a person to do negative things, and it is therefore necessary for one to be cautious only concerning those matters. I had never imagined that there could be a frum yetzer hara, let alone a chassidishe yetzer hara, who is there just to restrain a person from being involved in his true avoda."
(היום יום כ"ג סיון, אג"ק מהוריי"צ ח"ד ע' סז)

When I read this, I immediately thought of something that happened to me a few years ago.  Something happened, and it caused me for a few minutes to rethink things that were done when Yossi (a'h) was dying.  It made me think, Maybe I made a mistake!  Maybe if I had done this instead of that, the outcome would have been different.
I called my very wise friend, who also happens to be a bereaved mom.  I ran this whole thought by her.  What she said was so profound.  She asked me, how does this make you feel?  I blurted out, awful!  She told me that if you have a thought, and it makes you feel bad, then this thought is not coming from a good place.  It's coming from the yatzer hora.  The idea is that the bad thought will bring you down.  It will depress you.  Once you are in a bad mood, you will no longer want to do mitzvos.  Not necessarily skip every mitzvah.  But maybe for that one moment, you aren't going to bentch, or maybe you won't say tehillim, or maybe you won't cover up your elbow right that second, whatever.  It's something.  So all I am asking, if anyone happens to read this (since I never manage to actually post the stuff I start writing), is to please, l'iluey nishmas Yehoshua Shlomo ben Eliezer Tzvi Zev, the next time you hear something that sounds sad, take that energy, and convert it into good.  Go and say tehillim, or do a mitzvah, or inspire someone else.  Then you will know that the thoughts, even though they can be sad, and they can come from the Yatzer Hora, can be turned into good.
AD MOSAI!  HKB"H!  We need Moshiach already!!!
Blowing kisses to my friend -- You know who you are.